Reinforcement clip and spacer



Qct, 27, 1942. E. H. WILCOX- REINFORCEMENT CLIP AND SPACER Filed Aug. 8. 1959' filial-lug Patented Oct. 27", 1942 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE REINFORCEMENT CLIP AND SPACER Ernest H. Wilcox, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application August 8, 1939, Serial No. 288,970

4 Claims.

This invention relates to devices securing reenfor-cing bars and the like; and-the general object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and easily applied device which may act as a clip for securing together reenforcing rods, bars or wires, or which may act both as a clip, and as a spacer to position the reenforcements with reference to a form or the like, or as an indicator to indicate the position of a surface with reference to the reenforcements.

My device is capable of many various uses, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art. It will .be sufficient for the purpose of explaining the inventionto explain the typical application and use of my device for securing together pairs of parallel or crossed reen'forcing rods, or for securing together prefabricated sections of crossed reenforcing rods such as are used in reerrforcing concrete tunnel, conduit and other constructions. In connection with that type of use I will also explain how the device also functions as a spacer or indicator to position the reenforcement with reference to either a single form or a pair of forms or with reference to a wall surface. And it will become apparent to those skilled in the art, from this detailed and illustrative description, how my device may be used in a great variety of other situations.

For the purpose of the following illustrative description I refer to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective showing portions of typical reenforcing sections such, as are used in concrete tunnel, conduit and other construction, and showing a typical application of my device both as a securing clip and as a spacer.

Fig. 2 is a view showing the blank from which my device is made by successive bending and forming operations, and

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are similar views illustrating the successive operations to produce the finished device which is shown in Fig. 5 ready for use.

In Fig. 1, as a typical illustration of the adaptation, application and use of a typical form of my invention, I show the combined clip and spacer applied to two abutting sections A and B of preformed reenforcingnet or mesh. As commonly used, this form of reen-forcement is made up of long lengths in which the rods It are longitudinals and the rods H are laterals. From these long pre-formed lengths suitable lengths are cut to conform with the arch periphery of the tunnel or the like; and the cut sections are then bent or otherwise formed to the proper configuration .with the rods l0 extending peripherally and the rods H extending longitudinally of the tunnel or other structure. Adjacent sections will usually be placed with their edge rods I0 close to or in contact with each other, as is illustrated in Fig. 1. And then some means must be employed for securing adjacent sections together in proper relative positions, and also some means is either desirable or necessary for spacing the reenforcements in proper position relative to the form or forms within which the concrete is to be poured. My device is applied as shown in Fig. 1 both to secure the adjacent sections together, and if desired, to act also as a spacer.

The device itself may perhaps be best described and best understood by a consideration of its formation. In Fig. 2 is shown the blank from which the device is formed by bending or similar operations. Preferably the device is made of a single piece of material, and the preferred material is relatively thin sheet iron or steel. The size, weight and strength of the finished device depends of course quite entirely upon the nature of the service to be performed. For securing or spacing very heavy reenfoncements, the device will naturally be made larger and of heavier material. But for application to the reenforcements usually used in the average sizes of drainage and similar tunnels, the device may be of about the size shown in Fig. 2 and following of the drawing, or even smaller, and may be made up of sheet metal as thin as 20 gauge or thereabouts.

The blank shown in Fig. 2 is in the main of an elongate rectangular shape and preferably has, at the medial portion of one longitudinal edge a notch l5, whose purpose will become apparent later. Opposite this notch IS the other longitudinal edgehas .a. bulge or projection IE to make up for the loss of strength otherwise entailed by the notch. The first mentioned longitudinal edge has, immediately adjacent notch I5, a transversely projecting tab 11. The end portions I8 of the blank are weakened along longitudinally spaced, transverse lines to facilitate severance or bending of the ends to adjust their lengths, for purposes which will become apparent. These weakenings may be of any desired character, here being shown as transversely extending openings IS.

The order in which the various forming operations are performed is of no consequence, and the order in which I describe them is not intended as any limitation upon the invention, the steps of formation being described merely because they lead to an easier understanding of the final formation. Fig. 3 shows the blank bent in a U-bend at 20 so that its two longitudinal end portions [8 then lie alongside and parallel to each other, and so that the notch l5 then lies in the U-bend portion of the device. The portion of the blank which becomes the U-bend is indicated in Fig. 2 between the two dotted lines designated 20.

Next in the formation of the device the two end portions l8 are bent about the diagonal bending lines 2! to form the diagonal bends shown at 2i in Fig. 4. Finally, as shown in Fig. 5, the two end portions I8 are bent about the transverse bending lines 22' to form the bends 22. Thus, as finally formed in Fig. 5, the device has the upper U-bend portion 20 with what may be termed its depending U-leg portions 25. The notch I5 is situated in the U-bend portion 20, and the tab IT projects transversely from the edge of one of the legs and in the plane of that leg. At the lower ends of the legs 25 the two end portions 18 become the spacer portions of the device and, in the position of the device shown in Fig. 5, these two spacer portions lie in vertical planes. This relative position of the spacer portions is preferred for certain types of work, such as that illustrated in Fig. 1, but for certain other types of work the location of the portions H3 in a vertical plane may not be necessary. Thus, the portions I8 may project oppositely from the lower ends of the U-legs 25 in any relative plane. As an example, if the diagonal bend at 2| were omitted and the end portions [8 merely bent about the transverse bending lines 22' to form bends at 22, the portions I8 would then project oppositely from the U-legs 25 but would then lie in a horizontal plane in Fig. 5.

I may also note that, although I prefer to make my device throughout of a piece of fiat metal, it is not necessary that the spacer extensions, or even the depending U-legs be flat. They may, for instance, be of round, square or any other suitable cross-section.

In the typical application and use of the device shown in Fig. 1 the U-bend portion 253 has been placed around a longitudinal rod I l and the two legs 25 immediately below rod H have been pinched together so as to make the U-bend closely clamp the rod II. The U-bend has been clamped on rod II in such a position that the notch [5 receives and embraces the peripheral rod ii] of the reenforcement section B, and the notch may also be deep and large enough to either partially or wholly receive and embrace the adjacent rod I0 of the section A. The tab H has been bent around both the rods in of sections A and B to embrace them, to clamp them together and to hold those rods closely in the notch 15. The edge portions 250. of the legs 25 also embrace one or both of the rods It.

From the foregoing description it will be understood how the device functions as a clip, and how, in that function, it will act to secure and clamp two rods Ill together, or secure a rod H to one or more rods It. In fact, the clamping and clipping function of the device may be looked at as one of clamping one or more rods such as H, or of one or more rods such as l0 which lie in a position crossing the rod or rods typified by H. To perform any such function or functions the clip clamps both such a rod as H and such a rod as H], and thus its ultimate clamping function may be in some uses to clamp such a rod as H and locate it rigidly with reference to such a rod as H]. Or in some functions, the clamping operation may be merely to clamp the rods to fixedly locate the device on the reeinforcements to act as a spacer or indicator. In the particular use here illustrated, the rod 1 I is welded to the rod H] of section A, and the ultimate function of the clip is to clamp and secure the two rods ll] together, and the clamping of the rod H serves to fixedly locate the clip along the lengths of rods [0.

The device, as I have described it, may be utilized merely as a clip for securing rods together. In that case it need not have the spacer extensions l3. However, in most cases it is desirable to locate the reenforcements with reference to a former a pair of forms, or to locate a wall surface with reference to the reenforcements, and for that purpose either one or both of the described spacer extension may be used. I here show the device in the proper form, and properly applied, to space the reenforcements of Fig. 1 between two forms. And for proper positioning of the reenforcements, the end portions of the extensions 13 may be broken off or bent at any of the weakenings l9 to make the spacer extensions l8 of the appropriate length or lengths.

From what I have said it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that my device may be used in a great variety of situations and in connection with various methods of forming reenforced concrete or similar structures. Floor and wall constructions are typical. As a clip, or combined clip and spacer, the device is universally useful wherever reenforcements need to be secured together or positioned relative to a form or forms. And further I point to the fact that the spacer extension or extensions may be used as indicators of the position of a surface. For instance, in the so-called Gunnite method, my device may be used either as a clip and indicator, or simply as an indicator fixed in position relative to the reenforcements and indicating the position of the surface to which the concrete is tobe built up.

Although I have particularly described preferred forms of my invention, and a typical application and use thereof I desire not to be limited to any of the particulars described except insofar as expressly stated in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A one-piece clip adapted to be applied to crossed rods or the like, said clip being formed of a single piece of relatively thin flat bendable material, having a central U-shaped portion adapted to fit over one of a pair of crossed rods and to be bent into clamping engagement with that rod, said U-shaped portion having at one edge of its U-bend a notch adapted to receive the other of the pair of crossed rods. said U-shaped portion including two flat legs. and a bendable clamping tab projecting laterally from that lateral edge of one of said legs that corresponds with the notched edge of the U-shaped portion, said tab projecting beyond said U-shaped portion so as to be bendable about the rod received within said notch.

2. A one-piece clip adapted to be applied to crossed rods or the like, said clip being formed of a single piece of relatively thin fiat bendable material, having a central U-shaped portion adapt-ed to fit over one of a pair of crossed rods and to be bent into clamping engagement with that rod, said U-shaped portion including two flat legs, a bendable clamping tab projecting laterally from one lateral edge of one of said legs and beyond said U-shaped portion, so as to be bendable about the other of the crossed rods, and lateral spacer extensions projecting oppositely from the ends of the legs in directions which lie in the plane of the U -formation.

3. A one-piece clip adapted to be applied to crossed rods or the like, said clip being formed of a single piece of relatively thin fiat bendable material, having a central U-shaped portion adapted to fit over one of a pair of crossed rods and to be bent into clamping engagement with that rod, said U-shaped portion having at one edge of its U-bend a notch adapted to receive the other of the pair of crossed rods, said U- shaped portion including two flat legs, a bendable clamping tab projecting laterally from that lateral edge of one of said legs that corresponds with the notched edge of the U-shaped portion, said tab projecting beyond said U-shaped portion so as to be bendable about the rod received within said notch, and lateral spacer extensions projecting oppositely from the ends of the legs in directions which lie in the plane of the U-formation.

4. A one-piece clip adapted to be applied to crossed rods or the like, said clip being formed of a single piece of relatively thin fiat bendable material, having a central U-shape forming portion, said portion in U-shape being adapted to fit over one of a pair of crossed rods and to be bent into clamping engagement with that rod, said U-shape forming portion having at one of its edges a notch adapted to receive the other of the pair of crossed rods, said U-shape forming portion including two flat legs, and a bendable clamping tab projecting laterally from that lateral edge of one of said legs that corresponds with the notched edge of the U-shape forming portion, and being located on that edge adjacent the notch, said tab projecting beyond said U-shape forming portion so as to be bendable about the rod received within said notch.

ERNEST H. WILCOX. 

